britex, britex guest blogger, decades of style, dress, fabric, haleiwa, handmade wardrobe, hawaii, linen, siren sundress, sundress, wrap dress

Vintage-inspired linen sundress

If you're arriving here from Britex, welcome! A couple of weeks ago, my family took a trip to Hawaii, which nicely coincided (with a slight extension of deadlines--thank you, Joie 🙂 with my latest Britex project.  A lovely linen sundress was the obvious choice; after all, doesn't everyone sew new garments before going on vacation?!The… Continue reading Vintage-inspired linen sundress

chambray, colette patterns, cotton + steel, double gauze, handmade wardrobe, hayden, seamwork, sewing

Handful of Haydens (and a fix to a fit problem)

In all honesty and seriousness, it was the Hayden pattern this month that convinced me to finally subscribe to Seamwork.   Mostly, I just I love the idea of a woven t-shirt with style lines.If you plan to make this top, you really MUST make a muslin.  Seriously, I can't stress this enough.  I raced… Continue reading Handful of Haydens (and a fix to a fit problem)

bowline, handmade wardrobe, indie patterns, knits, papercut, sewing, sewing knits, shirt, sweatshirt

Striped Bowline sweater

After making a couple of fancy Linden sweaters (here, here, and here), I wasn't ready to give up my comfy sweatshirt-analogs when the warm weather hit.  Papercut's Bowline sweater was such an unusual design, I couldn't resist! As an aside, if you haven't ordered a printed PDF from Papercut, do it!  It takes a while to arrive… Continue reading Striped Bowline sweater

britex, britex guest blogger, handmade wardrobe, handsewing, resewlution 2015, sewing, silk, skirt

Fancy holiday skirt in silk taffeta

If you're coming from Britex, welcome! With the holidays coming up, surely there are a few parties to attend, right?  The iridescent magenta-black color of this stunning silk taffeta is so joyous and opulent that I knew it had to be a sassy, swingy skirt for an evening fĂŞte! When the fabric arrived, I was… Continue reading Fancy holiday skirt in silk taffeta

handmade wardrobe, indie patterns, knits, renfrew, sewaholic patterns, sewing, sewing knits

Renfrew top and a neckline conversion

I've made the Renfrew cowl neck top a couple times (here and here), and I love it.  The cowl is more like a floppy turtleneck, so for it to hang nicely, the fabric has to be pretty lightweight and drapey. After sewing up the Renfrew in this cute bicycle print (purchased at Harts, but it… Continue reading Renfrew top and a neckline conversion

handmade wardrobe, hong kong finish, liesl&co, sewing, skirt, underlining, wool, wrap skirt

City Stroll Skirt in cashmere

With a cute blouse or sweater, skirts are great for my job, so the unusual shape and nice details (pockets!) of the City Stroll Skirt by Liesl & Co definitely caught my eye when the pattern was released.  For this version, I used a "scrap" of fabric leftover from my self-drafted blazer project.  I couldn't… Continue reading City Stroll Skirt in cashmere

grainline, handmade wardrobe, indie patterns, knit, linden, sewing, sewing indie month, tops

Quilted Linden sweatshirt

I wasn't particularly excited about Grainline's Linden Sweatshirt pattern when it was released.  It's cool, but I don't wear too many sweatshirts, and I wasn't sure I could make it look as hip as Jen does! That all changed on my last trip over the mountain to Hart's Fabric.  I spotted this a-mazing white quilted… Continue reading Quilted Linden sweatshirt

drape, drape drape 2, handmade wardrobe, japanese, knits, sewing, sewing knits, skirt

Drape Drape 2: skirt no. 5

I was relishing the finale of "The Great British Sewing Bee" (season 3) with a bowl of popcorn this evening, when I was surprised and thrilled to see that the contestants' first challenge was to sew the Drape Drape 2 no.2 top that I posted the other day!  It was the exact pattern!  It was… Continue reading Drape Drape 2: skirt no. 5